Apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal.



no. l67mm. Patented Apr. 2, 19m. A. A. DAY.

APPARATUS FR-EBATING AND FEEDING PUWDEBED CUL.

(Application Bled Nov. '7. 1 900.) l

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A n/Mm /g N0. 67l,|6|. Patented Apr. 2, 190|.

A. A. DAY.. APPARATUS FOR AERA-'TINE AND FEEDING POWDEBED COAL.

(Application led Nov. 7, 1900.)

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No. 67u61. Patented Aprqz', Ism..

A. A. DAY.

APPARATUS FUR AERA-TING AND FEEDING PUWDERED COAL.

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A. A. DAY.

APPARATUS FDH AERATINE- AND FEEDING POWDEBED CUAL.

(Applcatiun iilod Nov. 1, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

No. 67H61. Patented Apr. 2, |90I.

IINTTnio STATas fATnNT OFFICE.

ALBERT A. DAY., OF BROOKLYN. NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO TI'IE IDEALFUEL-FEEDER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR AERATING AND FEEDING POWDERED COAL.

SPECIICATON forming 'part of Letters Patent No. 671,161, dated April 2,1901.

Application filed November 7, 1900. Serial No. 35,741. (No model.)

To /LZZ zoll/0775 it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. DAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the city of New York, in the county of Kingsand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Apparatus for Aerating and Feeding Powdered Coal; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such aslwill enable others skilled in the art towhich itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improved apparatus for aeratiug and feeding coal inpulverulent form; and it consists in the novel features hereinafterdescribed, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, whichillustrate one forni in which I have contemplated embodying myinvention, and said invention is fully disclosed in the followingdescription and claims.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure l represents a sectional view ofmy apparatus. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Eig. f3 is asectional View of the ejector or expelling fan. Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on line t of l. Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section of a machineembodying a slight modification of my invention. Fig. 6 is a transversevertical section on line o 6 of Fig. 5.

My apparatus is adapted to feed coal in a finely-divided or pulverulentcondition, in which the particles are of uniform size and about the samecondition as line wheat-flour, so as to form an almost impalpalolepowder. So far as I am aware I am the first to feed coal in thiscondition to a furnace.

My apparatus consists, essentially, of a positively operated andcontrolled feeding mechanism, an aerator for mixing the pulverulent coalthoroughly and intimately with air, and an ejecting mechanism forforcing the air andcoal into the furnace, where it is consumed, the useof my apparatus insuring substantially perfect combustion of the fuel,and thereby obviating entirely the formation of smoke.

In the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, A represents a hopperdesigned to receive 'the nely-pulverized coal, said hopper beingpreferably of inverted conical form and provided at its bottom withadischargeaperture CL, which communicates with a horizontally-disposedcylindrical trough B. In order to prevent the floury mass of coal in thehopper from packing, I provide a device for stirring or agitating it,consisting in this instance of a vertical shaft CL, provided withlaterally-extending arms or stirrers CL2, said shaft being mounted inbearings at its upper and lower ends carried by horizontal bars eX-tending across the top of the hopper and across the discharge-apertureCL. Theshaft CL is provided with suitable means for rotat ing it, and inthis instance it is shown as prov vided with a bevel-pinion CL3, meshingwith a similar pinion CL4 on a horizontal shaft (L5, extending acrossthe upper `end of the hopper and provided outside the hopper with adriving-pulley CLG. a7 represents a gear-casing surrounding the gearsCL3 and c4 to protect them from dust and grit.

O represents a shaft which extends centrally and longitudinally throughthe trough B and has one end supported in a bearing formed in abearing-standard Cand its other end supported in a bearing d, formed inthe casing of the ejector D. \Vithin the trough B is located a worm b,formed on or secu red to a sleeve b', which is loosely mounted upon theshaft O, so as to turn independently thereof. The sleeve h extendsbeyond the outerend of the trough B and is held from endwise movement inthat direction by a collar c. The projecting part of the sleeve b' isprovided, preferably, with a conical driving-pulley B', by means ofWhich the speed of the worm may be varied, as hereinafter described. Theopposite end of the trough B is open and extends within a chamberE,which I term the aerating-chamber, said chamber being preferably ofconical form, as shown, the walls tapering from the side adjacent totrough B toward the opposite side of the chamber. The shaft O is alsoprovided with a collar c adjacent to the end of the sleeve b' to preventthe longitudinal movement of the sleeve.

E represents a spreading device located within the aerating-chamberadjacent to the discharge end of the trough B and consisting in thisinstance of a circular plate secured to the shaft O and adapted torotate therewith.

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aperture than at any other point.

Within the aerating-chamber E are a series of aerating-blades E2, whichare secured to the shaft C and rotate with it.

The aerating-chamber is provided on the side opposite the trough B withan outlet-aperture e, which communicates with the ejector-casing D. Theside of the aerating-chamber adjacent to the trough B is provided with acentral aperture or apertures e', adapted to partially or wholly beclosed by a slide E3. (See Figs. 1 and +L.)

The inner periphery of the ejector-chamber D is constructed eccentric tothe shaft C, as shown in Fig. 3, and the casing is provided with adischargeaperture d', preferably located near the top ofthe casing. Thecasing is so constructed that the portion of its inner periphery belowthe outlet is nearest to the axis 0f shaft C, and from that point itrecedes gradually to a point in line with the fop of thedischarge-apertore, as shown in Figs. l and 3. Within the casing D are aseries of radially-disposed ejecting-blades D.

By reason of the eccentric formation of the interior of the fan-casingit will follow that the outer ends of the blades D will lie closer tothe casing at a point below the discharge- This construction isbeneficial in securinga rapid and powerful discharge from the casing.

I provide means for driving the worm l) and the fans independently andfor independently regulating their speeds, which in the present instanceconsist of the following arrangement of parts: Parallel with the shaftCisa counter-shaft ordriving-shaft F, mounted in bearings in thestandard C and a similar standard C2, which latter also serves tosupport the trough B and hopper A. Upon this driving-shaft is mounted acone drivingpulley VF', disposed oppositely to and in line with thecone-pulley Bon the sleeve b'. The cone-pulleys B F are connected by adriving-belt f, which is engaged by guides g g on a Vshifting-lever G,pivot-ed to the base of the machine and provided with a ratchet-segmentg and pawl g2, pawl-operating lever g3, and link g4 of ordinaryconstruction, so that the belt can be moved to dierent positions on saidcone-pulleys to regulatethe speed of the worm and, therefore the feed ofthe pulverulent coal. The shaft C is also provided with a cone-pulleyC3, and shaft F is provided with an oppositeiy-arranged cone-pulley F3in line with it and connected thereto by a drivingbelt f. I also providea shifting-lever G with segment g5, pawl Q6, lever g?, and link gssimilar to lever G and having guides g g engaging t-he belt f", wherebythe belt can be shifted to vary the speed of the aeratingblades E2 andejector-blades D@ The shaft F is provided with a pulley F2, geared by abelt f2 with the pulley a@ for operating the stirrer, and said shaftl Fis also provided with a band-pulley F4, by means of which it can bedriven from a motor, lineshafting, or other source of power.

The coai, which has been previously pulverized to a condition similar tone flour, is supplied to the hopper A in any desired way and from thehopper it passes to the trough B, where itis fed hy means of the worm binto the aerating-chamber. As the coal leaves the trough B it is throwntoward the inner periphery of the aerating-chamber by the centrifugalaction of the biades E2, the spreader E preventing it from passingcentrally through the aerating-chamber. rPhe action of the blades E2thoroughly mixes the fine powder with air, which is admitted inregulated quautity through the aperture or apertures e', and as the aircomes into a state of saturation it passes out into the ejector-casingD, where it is taken up by the ejectorblades and discharged through theoutlet d', which is connected by means of a pipe or tube (not shown)with a furnace, where the mixture of air and powder is consumed,producing a white-hot fiame withoutsmoke. As before described, theapparatus is perfectly under the control of the operator, as the supplyof coal-powder can be accurately regulated independentlyof the otherparts of the apparatus by means of lever G. The speed of theaerator-blades and ejector-blades can be independentlyincreased ordiminished by means of lever G', and the admission of air to the aeratoris controlled by the slide E3.

It is to be distinctly understood that no pulverizing or grinding actiontakes place in any part of the apparatus, as the coal is so iinelypowdered before being delivered to the' hopper that further subdivisionof it is not only practically impossible, but undesirable, as I havefound by experiment that by the use of this form of fuel'in my apparatusthe percentage of heat units actually converted into available energy isfar in excess of the results produced by the use of coal in ordinaryforms-such as lump coal or broken, ground, or so-called powdered coal,where the particles are of varying sizes-and I am able to obtain apractically perfect and therefore smokeless combustion.

In the following claims where mention is made of powdered coal is to beunderstood coal which has been brought to the condition of an impalpablepowder.

I do not limit myself to the use of an ejector-fan of the specific formshown, as I may employ other forms of ejector-fans in connection with myapparatus, and in other respects I do not wish to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, as mechanicalVariations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a slight modification of myimprovedapparatus, in which a device is employed for regulating the size of theaperture between the aerating-chamber and the ejector-casing. In thesefigures, H represents the aerating-chamber. I represents theejector-casing, I the ejector-blades, and h TIO the aperture between theaerating-chamber and ejetjetor-casing. I desire to regulate the size ofthis aperture and at the same time to maintain said aperture circularand concentric with the shaft H2, which extends through theaerating-chamber and ejector-casing. I have shown in this connection anadjusting device for the aperture h, consisting of what is termed aniris-diaphragm. This construction comprises a series of overlappingwings and plates 7c, pivoted to the casing I around the aperture h andhaving arms lc extending outwardly, all of said arms being` pivoted toan adjusting-ring K, provided with a handle K. The plates 7c are 'soconstructed as to form a circular aperture concentric with the shaft H2,and by moving the ring` K in one direction or the other the diameter ofthis aperture may be increased or diminished, as will be readilyunderstood.

I do not claim the specific construction of the iris-diaphragm, for itmay be substituted by other forms of mechanism for varying the size ofaperture 7L. I prefer, however, to employ this device or other suitabledevice which will adjust the size of the aperture and at the same timemaintain it circular and concentric with the shaft.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Iletters Patent, is-

l. In an apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal thecombination with an ejecting-chamber, provided with ejecting mechanism,of a separate aerating-chamber communicating with said ejecting-chamber,a series of revolving aerating-blades, located inthe aerating-chamberand a positive feeding meehanism communicating with the saidaeratiugchamber1 substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus Yfor aerating and feeding powdered coal, thecombination with an ejecting-chamber provided with ejecting mechanism,of a separate aerating-chamber located at one side of theejecting-chamber and having a central aperture communicating with the e]`eeting-cham ber, a series of rotary aerating-blades in saidaerating-chamber, and a positive feeding mechanism communicating withsaid aerating-chamber, substantially as described.

In apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal, the combinationwith an ejecting-chamber, of a separate aerating-chamber located at oneside of said ejecting-chamber, and communicating therewith by a commoncentral aperture, a common shaft extending through said aerating andejecting chambers, ejecting-blades located in said ejecting-chamberandsecured to said shaft, aseries of aerating-blades located in saidaerating-chamber and secured to said shaft, and a feeding devicecommunicating with said aerating-chamber, substantially as described.

4. In apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal, the combinationwith an ejecof a separate aerating-chamber, communieating with theejecting-cham ber, a series of acrating-blades located in saidaeratiug-chamber, a positive feeding device comm unicating 'ith saidaeratirig-chamber, mechanism for positively regulating said 'feeding`mechanism and independent mechanism for positively regulating the speedof the ejectiug mechanism, substantially as described.

5. In apparatus for acrating and feeding powdered coal, the combinationwith an ejecting-chamber, a series of revolving ejectingblades locatedtherein, a separate aerat'ingchamber communicating with saidejectingchamber, aseries of revolvingaeratiiig-blades located in saidaeratiiig-chamber, a positive feeding mechanism communicating with saidaerating-chamber, an independent ai r-snpply for said aerating-chamber,devices for regulating said air-supply, mechanism for positivelyregulating said feeding` mechanism,aud independent mechanism forregulating the speed of said ejecting-blades, substantially asdescribed.

6. In an apparatus for aeraing and feeding powdered coal, thecombination with an ejecting-cham ber, of a separate aeratiug-chamberlocated at one side of said ejecting-ehamber and communicatingtherewith,a shaft extending througn said aerating and ejecring chambers,a series of. ejecting-blades secu red to said shaft within theejecting-chamber, a series of aerating-blades secured to said shaftwithin said aerating chamber, a feedingtrough communicating with saidaeratingcham ber,a feeding-worm in said trough, mechanism for positivelyregulating the speed of said worm, and independent mechanism forpositively regulating the speed of said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

7. In au apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal, thecombination with an ejecting -chamber, of an aeratiug chamber arrangedat one side of said ejecting-chamber and communicating therewith, afeedingtrough communicating with said aeratingchamber,ashafl extendingthrough said ejecting-chamber, aerating-chamber and trough,ejecting-blades secured to said shaft within theejecting-chamher,aerating-blades secured to said shaft within theaerating-chamber, a worm loosely mounted on said shaft within saidfeeding-chamber, driving mechanism for said shaft, independent drivingmechanism for said worm, means for regulating the speed of said shaftand independent mechanism for regulating the speed of said worm,substantially as described.

In an apparatus for aerating and feeding powdered coal, the combinationwith an ejecting-chamber, and a series of revolving blades locatedtherein, of a separate aerating-chamber com municaring with saidejecting-chamber, a series of revolving aerating-blades 1ocated therein,feeding devices communicattor-casing,provided with ej ecting mechanism,l ing centrally with said aerating-chamber, and

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a deflector located in said aerating-chamber in the path of fuelentering from said feeding device, substantially as described.

9. In apparatus for feeding powdered coal to furnaces, the combinationwith the aerating-chamber and rotatable aerating-blades located therein,of a trough discharging centrally into said chamber, a feeding-worm insaid trough, a deiiector in said chamber opposite the discharge end ofsaid trough, an ejector connected with said chamber, a series ofrotatable ejector-blades located therein, means for regulating the speedof said worm and independent means for regulating the speed of saidaerating and ejecting blades, substantially as described.

l0. In apparatus for feeding powdered coal. to furnaces, the combinationwith the aerating-chamber and a trough discharging; centrally into saidchamber, of a shaft extending thrcugh said trough and chamber, a sleeveloose on said shaft, located within saidtrough, a worm carried by saidsleeve, a series of aerating-blades secured to said shaft within thesaid chamber, an ejector connected with said chamber, means forregulating the speed. of said sleeve and independent means forregulating the speed of said shaft, substantially as described.

ll. In apparatus for feeding powdered coal to furnaces, the combinationwith the aerating-chamber,of a trough communicating with said chamber,an ejector-casing communicating with said chamber, a shaft extending.through said trough-chamber and ejector-casing, a feeding-worm looselymounted on said shaft within said trough, means for driving said worm, aseries of aerating-blades secured to said shaft within theaerating-chamber, a deflector within said aerating-chamber, adjacent tothe discharge end of said trough, a series of ejector-blades secured tosaid shaft within the ejector-casing, means for driving said shaft,means for regulating the speed of said feeding-worm and independent`means for regulating the speed of said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

l2. In apparatus for feeding powdered coal to furnaces, the combinationwith the aerating-chamber, of a trough communicating with said chamber,an ejector-casing communicating with said chamber, a shaft extendingthrough said trough-chamber and ejectorcasing, a feeding-worin looselymounted on said shaft within said trough, means for driving said worm, aseries of Aaerating-blades secured tosaid shaft within the aerating-chamber, a series of ejector-blades secured to said shaft within theejector-casing, means for driving said shaft, an air-inlet for saidaerating-chamber, a regulating device for said airinlet, a deflectoradjacent to the discharge end of said trough, means for regulating thespeed of said worm and independent means for regulating the speed ofsaid shaft, substantially as described.

18. In an apparatus for feeding powdered coal to furnaces, thecombination with an ejectingchamber provided with ejecting mechanism, ofa separatev aerating-ohamber arranged at one side of theejectingfchambcr and communicating by a central. aperture therewith, aseries of revolving aeratingblades located therein, a feeding deviceco1nm u nicating centrally with said aerating-chamber, a deflectorlocated in said aeratingchamber, between the feeding device and theaperture leading to the ejecting-cham ber,and means for regulating thesize of said aperture, substantially as described.

14E. In an apparatus for feeding powdered coal, the combination with theej acting-chamber and a series of revolving blades located therein, of aseparate aerating-chainber located at one side of the ejecting-chamberand communicating therewith b v a common central aperture, a feedingdevice communicating centrally with said aerating-chamber, an air-inletfor said aerating-chamber, means for regulating said air-inlet, adeflector interposed between said feeding device and said commonaperture, means for regulating the speed of said feeding device andmeans for regulating the size of said aperture leading to theejecting-chamber, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT A. DAY.

Witnesses:

W M. J. SMITH, W. H. PAnRIs.

